“Malls have to be maintained in a way that whenever a person enters the premises, even if it is midnight, it should give a fresh feel. This is our objective!” says Jasmin Bhavsar, F&B Manager, Shree Balaji Agora Mall.
Jasmin Bhavsar
To maintain the cleanliness quotient of a huge mall with a 300,000sqft retail space is a challenge.
No Outsourcing!
“Outsourcing was a good option earlier, but later we decided to have an in-house team to improve delivery and save the unnecessary supervisory problems. Usually when you have a group of new janitors reporting to work, there is a general tendency to get irritated as they require repeated teaching and training. Whereas delivering services with the in-house team comprising of 20-25 housekeepers equipped with modern equipment and accessories is much simpler. We have a trained team that works with checklists for different departments and locations like retail showrooms, restaurants, open public areas, stairs, elevators, escalators, furniture, etc.”
The entire cleaning of the mall is divided into parts – the kitchen area and the open area – and are maintained by separate teams. “Simple tasks to the minutest detail is taken care – In the kitchen, the food items are kept covered when not required, checked if they are fresh, cooked left overs disposed off, uncooked ones kept well covered or placed in the deep-fridge…”
“We use Eureka Forbes machines and chemicals of Diversey for cleaning. We are happy with their after sales service hence we will continue using them. To avoid breakdowns, routine and thorough checks are made before weekends and festive seasons.”
“In order to improve the level of maintenance and to attain better standards, training on how to use equipment and innovations will always be essential. But along with our efforts, the visitors too need to change their attitude towards littering! For instance, if we place boards stating ‘Do Not Spit Here’, some people conveniently remove the ‘Not’ and change the meaning of the board as ‘Do Spit Here’. The biggest challenge we face is to teach them where to throw tissues and where to spit!”
